Debit card in Japan

Murmansk

I went to Japan recently and when I used my debit card in shops they just swiped it through a machine (presumably reading the magnetic stripe, not the chip) and gave it back to me.

No PIN or signature was needed.

Surely this is a bit worrying??!! Is it common in other places abroad too?

18cc

Not sure but could it be their form of contactless?

Terry_Towelling

What sort of shops? What sort of Transaction amounts?

eDicky

Anything underhand is very rare in Japan, especially in shops. So there's no need to worry.

Different countries treat card payments in different ways, and for relatively small amounts a terminal may not ask for signature or PIN. And then, I've often been asked for both.

TheShape

When I made purchases that required a signature in the US last year my signature was never checked against the card. I know this as the signature strip was entirely worn away so no check could be made.

Murmansk

Well they were fairly small transactions I guess - under the equivalent of £30

Terry_Towelling

Murmansk wrote: »

Well they were fairly small transactions I guess - under the equivalent of £30

In that case, as 18cc says, probably 'contactless'. Although not guaranteed to be the same for non-UK transactions as for UK ones, doesn't a 'contactless' purchase appear on your statement with the 'contactless' logo next to it? You could check that and see what shows.

Emily_Joy

This is known as "pin bypass". No need to worry - just keep the receipts and check the statement upon returning home.

Terry_Towelling

Emily_Joy wrote: »

This is known as "pin bypass". No need to worry - just keep the receipts and check the statement upon returning home.

Not entirely certain it is. OP says the CHIP was not read. PIN Bypass can only be invoked in a CHIP-read transaction where the card's Cardholder Verification Method (CVM) lists PIN as the preferred CVM and the POS device supports PIN entry but this option was not done (for various reasons).

What should then happen is the POS Device should look to the next option on the CVM list contained within the CHIP, which, on a UK card, is most likely set to 'signature'. That didn't happen here, so it is unlikely to be the explanation.

Emily_Joy

Terry_Towelling wrote: »

Not entirely certain it is. OP says the CHIP was not read.

In US supermarkets pin bypass involves simply swiping your card.

Terry_Towelling

Emily_Joy wrote: »

In US supermarkets pin bypass involves simply swiping your card.

Technically, that is not PIN bypass, it is simply completing a transaction by reading the magnetic stripe and taking your signature - just like the good old days here in the civilised world. PIN Bypass involves reading the CHIP; much of the US is so far behind with CHIP and PIN that they don't actually have the CHIP readers in place.

Did the US supermarkets not even ask for a signature?

I left the world of card processing in 2005 with the US saying it might consider rolling out CHIP & PIN from 2010. Looks like they may have started but, 9 years later, and they still haven't completed it.